Fujifilm 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 overview

1Description

The XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS Zoom Lens from Fujifilm is the first zoom lens for the X mount on their X-series interchangeable lens digital cameras, and is sure to find a home in the kit bags of many shooters who are already attached to this APS-C sized camera system. A versatile, compact lens that can travel easily and respond to a range of shooting situations, the XF 18-55mm has the focal length equivalency of 27-84mm in the 35mm format. This covers a standard zoom range from basic wide-angle to medium telephoto and is ideal for day-to-day shooting needs from group shots to portraiture, cityscapes to natural vistas. It's a great lens for street photography as well.

The f/2.8-4 aperture means the lens will stay fast at most focal lengths and in most shooting situations and its 3 aspherical lens elements and 1 abnormal dispersion element prevent aberration to give you crisp details and accurate colors throughout the image frame. A fast, linear motor-driven autofocus system will get you to your focus smoothly and quickly and keep you shooting confidently. An optical image stabilization system helps to keep your images sharp by compensating for any camera shake, especially in low light and its focus range starts at 11.8" (30 cm) in wide-angle and at 17.7" (45 cm) at the telephoto length. With the popularity of the X-series cameras growing and the lens line expanding, it's great that Fujifilm has introduced this compact, versatile zoom lens.

Fujifilm 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 reviews

XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS Zoom Lens is rated
4.5 out of
5 by
76.

Rated 5 out of
5 by
NorthernMinn from
Amazing standard zoom!This lens is outstanding! Far better than the standard zooms from the bigger names in the camera game. Fujifilm may not have a lot of lens options (yet) for their X series but what they do have is very good. Distortion is very well controled. No light fall off to speak off. Sharp as a tack. IS and an f-stop range of f2.8-f4. all in a small, light yet well made package. Focusing is very accurate and more than fast enough for 99% of all shooters. Fujifilm seems to really listen and give shooters what they want. And everything in the X series from bodies to lenses is very well crafted. All in all, a great everyday lens!

Date published: 2013-01-06

Rated 5 out of
5 by
DrJay from
Excellent lens with OIS disabledI got this lens with a Fujifilm X-T1 body. I love the overall construction of the lens; it's solidly built. I also liked the aperture range, which is about a stop faster than most kit lenses. Just for fun, I compared this lens against my 24-70mm Nikkor. My first tests were disappointing; fine details were slightly mushy. However, I then disabled OIS, and got blown away. This lens rivals the 24-70mm for sharpness on a 16MP body. OIS is very good at low shutter speeds (think 1/100s or slower), but at least for me I see OIS degrading image quality when shutter speeds are faster than 1/125s. I understand why this lens has no aperture ring markings (variable aperture), but it would be nice to have some kind of reference marks. This lens is a tremendous performer for me so far.

Date published: 2014-03-07

Rated 4 out of
5 by
Holly from
WonderfulThis kit lens for the Fuji line of X mount cameras is anything but a kit lens. The quality of images it produces on my XE1 are amazing. I rarely have to do much in post on these shots. Contrast is great. Sharpness is great. Colors are usually right on the money. I can handhold this camera with the optical image stabilization (OIS) turned on and get tack sharp images at 1/27th of a second! (See sunflower image below) My only complaint is probably a camera issue - the auto focus hunts too much in dim light. It also occasionally misses focus in bright light (though a quick refocus half-press usually gets it right). Overall - I am really impressed with this lens. For the full price, it's great. As a kit lens add on, it's a no brainer!

Date published: 2014-08-06

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Dietrdeb from
VERY SHARP!This lens is VERY SHARP. One of the sharpest that I have ever used. The contrast is also very good. Reminds me of the Leica lenses that I have owned. It is Asperical but the bokeh is is still very nice but bear in mind that this is not he kind of lens where bokeh comes into play very often. It does take a nice portrait, but I prefer to use my fast Nikon's and Canon FD's with an adapter for that job. As a travl or event lens, you would be hard pressed to find one that is better. Also the OS or optical stabilization works AWESOME. Combined with this cameras high ISO capabilities I can get razor sharp pictures in just about any light. Also it is worth mentioning that distortions with this lens are EXTREMELY well controlled!

Date published: 2013-03-17

Rated 4 out of
5 by
Dave R from
Better than expectedI use this lens for most of my photography, I also have the 18, 35 and 60mm lenses. I use those lens when I want faster speed or the best resolution I can get but the XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS Zoom is sharper than I thought it would be. Solid build, smooth action, small and light weight. This lens is as good as my Canon zoom lenses. Wish it had f. stops on the lens like the others but I do understand being a non fixed aperture lens prevents this feature.

Date published: 2013-09-21

Rated 5 out of
5 by
CatMarley from
Versatile perfectionI photograph the things in my life - my dogs, my garden, my friends and the rural countryside where I live. I have owned Nikons since the late 70's, and belonged to camera clubs, and even exhibited my work in shows. I have 3 Nikon DSLR's and many lenses, but they are heavy, and I am not getting any younger, so I bought The Fujifilm XT-1 with the 18-55f/2.8-4. I was seriously blown away by this lens! Faster than any other zoom I have had, as sharp as any prime lens I own, and on this body, the most spontaneous combo imaginable. Small, light, beautiful color rendition, beautiful bokeh wide open at 2.8, a macro perfect for the garden flowers and bugs, frogs and other small and beautiful critters. It could only be improved by a bit more range on both ends, but that would involve some compromises on size, weight, and aperture - compromizes I don't think I would be willing to make.

Date published: 2014-06-01

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Wayne from
This lens is the reason I bought a FujiI bought into the Fuji system because of this lens. I looked at Oly and didn't like their 16-50 lens too much as the manual zoom was 'chunky' since it was really built for video. With the Sony there was soooo much distortion. This lens is very sharp across the frame and the distortion is well controlled. For a walk-about kit with the X-E1, where you want to keep weight/size under control and are focused on stills & not video, this is truly excellent IMO. My only quibbles with this lens are in the specifications: I wish it went to 16mm on the wide end. Although it would be nice to go longer too, I don't think I would want the trade-offs in performance/size, but just a little wider would make this lens almost perfect. I shot nearly 2k pictures on vacation with this over 3 weeks and the pictures are everything I hoped for. Great sharpness & low distortion, plus quality construction is a big plus too. Shot this in light rain with no ill effects.

Date published: 2013-09-04

Rated 1 out of
5 by
Stephe from
Poor quality control, bad Fuji serviceThe copy of this lens is soft, tested on a solid tripod with the OS off against both the 18mm f2 and the 35mm f1.4 and it's not even close to the same performance. I did a quick decentering test and it clearly has some issues in that reguard. I've read reviews that said 2 out of 3 copies they tested were so decentered they couldn't test them. I mailed it back for repairs, Fuji said there is nothing wrong and just sent it back. BEWARE and test your copy as soon as you buy it and be ready to go through several of these before you get a good one. A lens this expencive should have better QC..